For My Wedding
by andi1013
Summary: A nice little father/son discussion turns into a nice wedding present.


Disclaimer: Not mine, and don't pretend they are.

And now, on with the show!

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He was nervous, and this damn tie wasn't helping either. It wasn't uncommon; afterall, it's only natural for a groom to be feeling a little anxiety on his wedding day. But this wasn't normal, was it? His hands were shaking and sweating profusely.

"Are you doing okay, son?" William jerked around at the sound of his father's voice. It was a simple question, and yet it caused more unwanted anxiety. Mulder saw William's expression and saw what could only be described as 'panic' on his son's face.

He rushed to his side and placed his hands on William's shoulders...trying to calm him down before he had a heart attack. "Will, look at me. Breathe in and out...slowly. Calm down, everything's going to be okay."

William avoided his father's gaze, "I don't know, dad. There's so much to be worried about. How are we going to live? *Where* are we going to live? How are we going to make it out there in the world, a world that is still brand new to us?"

Mulder moved his hands up until they cupped William's face and forced his son to look at him, "Listen to me, son. Do you love her?" He nodded. "Are you committed to her? Are you willing to die for her happiness?" Again, William nodded. "And does she feel the same way?" With the last question, Mulder could feel the tension begin to release, and he knew what his son's response would be. "Then together, you will be just fine."

With the emphasis on the 'together,' William finally began to slow his breathing down. He stopped shaking, smiled, and fell into Mulder's arms for a tight embrace. _There haven't been enough of these_, Mulder thought as he held his son.

William pulled back, turned back towards the mirror, and returned to the task of his tie. "Are you going to be okay now?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied.

Mulder looked at his son with doubt; "I rarely bought that from your mother, so I'm going to ask you again 'Are you okay?' Or should I go and get your mother and have her take your temperature." He playfully made for the door, but William stopped him before he could take two steps.

"Dad, I promise you, I'm in the best health of my life."

"That's better."

Mulder quietly sat down in the chair behind his son, watching as William tried with some avail to tie his tie. As he watched, Mulder couldn't help but wonder when this little baby had grown into a little boy...to a young man...and now into the adult that stood before him.

It's not like he had much of a choice but to leave. With the invasion right on the heels of William's birth, Mulder was being summoned to resistance groups across the nation to help prepare for the battles that laid ahead...thus, leaving Scully and William in wait.

It's not like he didn't see them at all in the 15 years. There were visits along the line...a short stop over every other month...a day or two every other year. Being away so much waned on Mulder's mind on whether or not William would ever get to know his father. Scully assured him that William understood why he couldn't be there. Even so, it didn't make the guilt any easier to burden.

He had only a few precious moments with William. By the time he had returned home - for good this time - William was well into his teens...well past the age to learn how to ride a bike, learn how to play catch, or even learn how to shoot a basketball. Time, as well, seemed to speed up...to ten years later, William's wedding day.

Although so much was missed, Mulder knew today was the perfect day to give his son a last piece of advice.

He walked up behind Will, Father and son watching each other through the mirror. "You look really handsome, Will." Mulder straightened his son's tie just a little better and then brushed down the sleeves just to give it the once-over.

"I want you to know something, son..." He wanted to say he was sorry for not being there. That everything in the past was done to make sure they could all make it to this day. Mulder, however, had second thoughts, feeling it was deemed inappropriate and settled on, "I hope you and Katelynn find all the happiness in the world."

"Anything else," William asked.

"Yes," Mulder responded, "be there for each other, and you can survive anything."

"Like you and mom?" William grinned slyly at his father.

Mulder chuckled, "I think you and Katelynn will find it a lot easier than your mom and I did."

"Yeah, but you and mom had the true test of will."

Mulder nodded. He had to agree with his son. He and Scully had never had anything 'easy' handed to them before.

"You loved mom a lot back then," William said.

Mulder looked at him, surprised at his statement. "I still do, son."

Will sat down in the chair Mulder vacated. "Then why didn't you ever marry her? That's one thing I never understood."

Mulder took up a chair and sat down next to his son. He always figured William would ask this question, but he always thought that he would be younger...or perhaps Scully would've answered it knowing he would support her response.

But never on *his* wedding day.

Mulder took a deep sigh and prepared himself for what he considered to be a 'long explanation.'

"Well, son, it was a mixture of things." William looked at his father intently, and Mulder knew he wasn't going to get away with just one sentence. "Well...times were different and circumstances were different. Fear played a small part in it...we were afraid to hope for happiness. We were afraid to hope for you until we held you in our arms." Mulder hesitated, should he really continue.

"Please continue," William prompted, but Mulder had run out of thought.

"I don't know, son. I guess since we were together for so long, we already felt married. True, we could've made it official, but it just wasn't 'us' at the time. It honestly felt like a trivial act compared to the scheme of things."

William leaned closer to Mulder. "And now?"

"And now," Mulder echoed, then continued, "it's one of the many regrets I have of something I should've done."

William was sort of confused, "What other regrets do you have?"

Mulder sighed heavily. He had just decided no to bring it up, but he knew his son would keep pushing until he caved...a trait that he was both proud of passing on but disappointed that it was directed towards him. "I should have stayed with you and your mother." William sat back in his chair. He had heard this before, listening to him apologize to his mother and trying to make up for years of absence. He knew he had prompted the subject, so William let him continue.

"Will, I want you to know that I loved you and your mother very much. And the last thing I wanted to do was to leave you unprotected. I thought by leaving and helping the Resistance it would ensure that the invasion would be stopped before it would begin. If I had known then what I know now..."

"Those cursed words," William interrupted. Mulder looked surprised that William wasn't becoming upset, and William explained why.

"Dad, in a way, I'm glad the things turned out the way they did." Mulder was confused, but William continued. "I'll admit that I was angry at you for leaving. I didn't understand as to why it had to be you helping save the world and not some other person. But mom was there to help me...and you were there, too, along the way. And when it was all over, you came back to us...that says a lot."

William saw a small tear escape from Mulder's eye, and he hugged his father. "Don't regret the decisions you made, okay? We are better for them...I promise."

"No regrets," Mulder echoed. He was caught off guard by Scully opening the door and whispered softly in William's ear, "Except just one."

William turned and saw his mother standing there, motioning to them it was time for the wedding to begin. Both men stood up straight. William wiped Mulder's eyes, and Mulder brushed William's shoulders down.

"Are you ready, son?"

"Yes, sir." And with that, William hurried out followed by his father and mother, arm-in-arm.

Mulder was surprised how quiet a church could be after a wedding ceremony. The pew was quite comfortable, and he watched the ushers silently collect all the plastic flowers and vines and put them in storage until the next wedding.

It was a small service with just a few close family and friends. William looked handsome standing up there. Katelynn's dress was not the grand spectacle most Catholic brides wear, but Mulder figured it was her taste to go with something more elegant, not extravagant.

He had held Scully's hand as they said, "I do," and was surprised when he began crying. Afterwards, at the reception, he found himself joking mildly with the Gunmen. It was short-lived, however, for they said they had to leave...something about carrying out a top-secret mission before the night was over. It should have seemed strange, but from those guys it was normal.

The celebration went on into dusk, until it was time for the bride and groom to depart for the honeymoon. Mulder shook William's hand in 'congratulations,' and held Scully as he watched the limo pull away.

In a way, it had been sort of a blur to him after the services began. He couldn't stop thinking about the talk he had with William before. It wasn't a typical father/son talk, but more like a son-to-father talk instead. Either way, it gave Mulder what he needed from William today...understanding.

He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts; Mulder didn't notice Scully walking up from the lobby.

"I was wondering where you had run off to," she said, sitting next to him in the pew. Mulder took her hand in his and began to study it intensely, as if something was profoundly missing.

"What are you thinking about sitting here by yourself?"

Mulder answered her with sincerity, "I was thinking about William a little bit...and other things." He continued, "We had a nice little talk before the ceremony,"

Scully smiled, "Giving him some father-to-son advice?"

Mulder paused for a minute, and then decided to just come out and say it, "Actually, he asked me why I never married you."

Scully couldn't hide her surprised expression, "Really? What did you tell him?"

He shook his head, "I told him that times were different for us, and it was just didn't seem right back then. You know, the usual bullshit explanation."

Scully nodded in agreement, "Oh...good."

Silence seemed to creep in very easily. Mulder went back to studying her hand, intently analyzing her ring finger. Scully had drifted off and started watching the ushers finish packing the boxes up.

"Do you ever regret it?" Mulder asked suddenly.

"What?" Scully said dumbly.

"Not getting married?"

"Do you?"

They looked at each other for a moment. Both were so curious as to what the other's answer would be, they hadn't even noticed Byers, Langly, and Frohike approaching from the altar...following Father Moore in hot pursuit.

"Mr. Mulder, Ms. Scully, are you ready to start?" Father asked.

Both looked at the group of men, obviously confused.

"Oh, this should clear things up a little bit," said Byers. He pulled out a slip of paper and handed in to Mulder. Still somewhat confused, Mulder unfolded the paper and read it out loud:

"No regrets.

~ Will"

When Mulder finished, he looked and saw Frohike holding a black box, opened to show two gold bands inside, and smiled.

Scully was still confused, "Mulder, do you know what this is about?"

Mulder stood up, walked around her to get to the isleway and knelt down beside her, "Our son, has given us a wedding present." He took her hand in his again, "He wants to make sure that we have no more regrets in our life together."

Mulder motioned for Frohike to give him one of the bands, and Frohike obliged, "Scully, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

He could see the tears swelling up as he waited for her response...and then they fell, "I thought you would never ask."

It was a small ceremony...the bride, the groom, three witnesses, and the priest. No music was played, no special vows were prepared. But a moment of silence and a moment of prayer were used to commemorate the love they had to make it this far...and for the love they will need to make it the rest of their life.

That's all they wanted for their wedding day.

THE END

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Author's Notes: When I originally thought of this story, I thought Scully was going to have a girl. But it does work better with a boy, I think so anyway.

Oh, yeah...

Please send me feedback!


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